That's Not Fine
by WritingGirl92
Summary: While the girls are gone, Jasper struggles to cope without Alice by his side. Contains disciplinary spanking. If you don't like, DON"T READ.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight series**

**This is pre-twilight, so no Bella**

**A/N: This is a discipline spanking story so if you don't like it, don't read it!**

"Be careful, love. Remember to text and call me. Do you have everything you need?" Jasper asks as he packs Alice's bag into the car. She smiles and nods.

"Don't worry, Jasper. Everything is going to be fine." She reassures him and kisses his cheek. He smiles at her with a look that can't be described as anything other than true love.

Emmett and Rosalie come outside next, Emmett trailing behind her with his arms full of her bags. If it was Alice strutting in front of Jasper like that, he would be heartbroken and would fear that she only saw him as a butler, but that's not how Emmett's and Rosalie's relationship functions. Emmett found the good side in every situation. Sure, his wife was making him lug around a ridiculous amount of suitcases and bags, but he was enjoying the view of her backside, which was barely covered by her skirt. I sigh. What clothing she wears is her own business, but I had asked her to pick more appropriate clothing for family matters. Apparently my request fell upon deaf ears.

The girls were leaving for a two week trip to visit Paris. I couldn't leave work that long, but both Esme and I thought it would be a good chance for the boys and I to have some quality time. Emmett and Edward were excited when the plan was announced. Jasper looked like he was told he was getting a beating.

"How will I live without you next to me?" He asks her in a low whisper. I have to concentrate to hear him over the sound of the others.

"The two weeks will fly by, dear. You'll have a good time with the boys." Alice assures him.

Edward and Esme join us on the garage, and as we pack, I watch Jasper and Alice. Jasper doesn't take his hands off of her, holding her waist or touching her shoulder. He kisses her neck, finger tips and forehead. He keeps reminding her to text him throughout the day and call when she can. Alice promises to, but also promises that he will be okay apart from her for the two weeks. It doesn't calm his worries.

As Alice heads back into the house to grab her last bag, Jasper follows right behind her, but as he passes, I rest my hand on his arm, making him pause for a moment.

"I'll be right back, I just have to help her with her bag." He says before trying to walk off.

"She can get it herself. I want to talk to you." I say. He presses his lips together and holds back a sigh. "Things will be okay. Alice has been paying attention to her visions of Paris. The weather is perfect for them, and this isn't a big time for tourist. Everything will be fine."

"I'll be away from her. That's not fine." He grumbles, pulls away from me and hurries into the house.

I sigh and pray that by tomorrow when the girls leave, he'll realize that it will be okay.

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	2. Chapter 2

"What do we do now?" Jasper asks me as we watch the girls pull out of the driveway. He sighs.

"What do you boys want to do?" I ask.

Edward and Emmett respond with a list of thing. They first try talking over the other, but soon they're exchanging ideas with each other instead of telling me what they want. I chuckle and turn to Jasper.

"What do you want to do?"

"I dunno." He mumbles and kicks at the ground.

I put my hand on his shoulder, but he jerks away from my touch and wonders over to his motorcycle on the other side of the garage. On the shelves next to it are his and Alice's helmets. The motorcycle was an apology gift from Emmett, the helmets from Edward. Jasper grabs a cloth from a box on the bottom shelf and starts polishing the motorcycle. He usually completes the task with his undivided attention, but I can tell by the look in his eyes that he isn't thinking about his bike. It's so out of character for him to aimlessly clean the motorcycle, and it is very rare for him to pull away from me like that.

If this is how he's going to handle having Alice gone, it's going to be a long two weeks.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, Jazz." I say as I enter the garage. He's sitting on the concrete floor next to his bike, his phone in his hand. "Why don't you come inside?"

"I'm waiting to hear from Alice." Be mumbles.

"She hasn't called you or sent you a text?"

"She called. But that was two hours ago."

"They're in Paris, son." I say as I walk over and hold my hand out to him. He doesn't take it, and instead he stands on his own. "It's quite the exciting trip. She won't be on her phone the whole time."

"But it's been two hours!"

"I spoke with Esme about forty-five minutes ago. Everyone is fine."

"Forty-five minutes ago? That means there was time for Alice to call." Jasper mumbles to himself. "Why didn't she call me?"

"She might not have had service."

"She has the best phone available and our phone server has the most towers in the world! There's no excuse!"

"I'm sure there aren't as many towers in Paris, son."

"There aren't as many as here in the US, but they have a decent amount. I checked."

I sigh. Of course he did.

"Let's go inside. Edward and Emmett have some new video game they are playing. They can hook up a third control." I suggest. He shakes his head.

"I can't miss a call from Alice."

"If she calls, just pause the game. Your brothers will understand. Emmett did the same when Rosalie called."

"When did she call?" He asks quickly.

"About four hours ago."

"I don't understand why Alice didn't called me then, either."

"Jasper," I say as he scrolls through the call log of his phone. "They just arrived in a beautiful place that they have never seen in person before. She hasn't forgotten about you, she's safe, and she is having a good time."

He sighs, runs his fingers through his hair and glances up at me. His eye, along with his gift, are projecting so much. Sadness. Betrayal. Confusion. Isolation. Nervousness. But then something hits even harder than anything else. A strong wave of bravery.

"Why the hell did you let them go?" He says with a demanding voice.

"You're angry with me?" I ask, confused with his attitude.

"You should have told them no! Why would you let them go? Why would you send them off without us? Without me?" He takes a step towards me and clenches his fists.

"If we're going to talk about this, then you need to fix your tone and attitude." I tell him. He looks down and scowls at the ground before turning on his heels and storming out of the garage, slamming the door as he leaves.

I sigh again and listen to the other boys invite him to play. He tells them no, then stomps to his room. He slams the door again.

I stay in the garage for a moment and try to wrap my mind around the situation that has just played out. Our usually obedient, quiet soldier had a complete one-eighty turn around in his behavior. After Esme and I announced the plan of the trip, I knew Jasper would have a difficult time being away from Alice, but I never imagined it to be this rough. And now he's angry with me for letting them go?

I take a deep breath to calm myself. I remind myself that Jasper is a good boy. He is simply having difficulties with this separation. I decide to go inside and let Jasper spend some time alone in his room before going to talk to him again. His decision to end our conversation instead of acting on his anger tells me that he is still thinking clearly, and must have decided that he need time to clear his head. If that is his wish, I will grant him a few hours to do so.

As I enter the house, Emmett and Edward stare at me with wide eyes. A soft thud is heard upstairs, along with the door shaking slightly. I sigh.

"Leave him be. Let him have some time to collect himself." I tell them.

"Do we have to leave later?" Edward asks. I shake my head no.

"No one is being punished tonight." I promise. Their tense shoulders relax and Emmett cracks a little smile.

"Since Jasper is in no mood to play," Emmett says. He grabs the third controller from entertainment center and holds it up to me. "Do you wanna learn to play?"

OoOoO

"You suck, Carlisle!" Emmett laughs as my character dramatically falls into a pool of his own dark red blood. The armed men who killed me casually walk away from my pixelated body.

"Why did they shoot me?"

"They're the enemy, Dad." Edward explains. "You were suppose to shoot them."

"Why are we enemies?"

"That's just how the game is." Emmett says.

"There's no reason?"

"No. You just shoot."

"I don't understand why we're shooting at each other. I see now why so many parents complain about these games. "

"Oh my god!" Emmett laughs and throws his head back. "Don't be that guy! They're not real people. They're animated, they're fake, they don't feel pain. Just shoot them!"

"What button do I push to shoot?"

"Goodness, Carlisle. It's not that hard!" Now Edward groans, but smiles as he does. I hand the controller to him.

"Here. You see if you can get past them, sassy." I tell him and stand from the couch. He gives me a cocky smirk as I walk towards the steps.

"I'm not cocky!" He proclaims.

"Yes you are, Edward." I reply and climb up the steps.

I can hear Edward and Emmett cracking jokes about my poor video game skills. I chuckle. Usually I wouldn't play their games, but these two weeks are suppose to be fun, different. The game took much more than I expected, and the boys got a kick out of watching me play it.

Well, two of the boys.

I reach Jasper's door and gently knock. He grumbles something that sounds like come in. I push the door open, but something stops it when it's halfway open. I slip in and see a pillow wedged between the door and the wall. I grab it and look over to the bed where Jasper is laying. He's on his stomach with his head buried into the pillow at the front of the bed. His hands are folded over his head. His button up shirt is thrown to the side of his bed and his cowboy boots are at the foot of his bed. He's in his wrangler jeans and a white tank top.

"Hey, buddy. I was wondering if we could talk." I say. I don't get an answer, but I walk over to the bed anyways. I toss the pillow next to him, making him lift his head.

"I'm sorry I threw the pillow." He whispers. "I shouldn't have done that."

"There's no harm done." I tell him and put my hand on his shoulder. "I can't say I'm thrilled with your decision to throw anything, but the pillow is the best choice if you're going to."

He drops his head back into his pillow.

"I would like to talk to you about these next two weeks." I say.

"I'm sorry for how I acted in the garage." He says into the pillow.

"How about you sit up so we can speak face to face?"

He slowly pushes himself up and shifts around so he's sitting cross-legged next to me. He looks down and rubs the hem of his jeans between his thumb and forefinger.

"You're taking this much harder than I thought you would."

"I've never been away from her longer than a few hours. We swore we'd never leave each other."

"She didn't leave you. She's simply on vacation." I explain. "You're relationship is still healthy and fully intact."

"But I'm not with her. I let her go."

"Jasper, Alice will be back in two weeks. That's only fourteen days. You'll be fine. You just have to learn to operate without her."

He looks at me with a look of sheer terror. I sigh, wrap my arm around his shoulder and pull him into me. He hides his face in my shoulder.

"It's suppose to be the city of love, of romance. And we're not together." He whispers.

"Paris will be around for a long time. You two will have your chance to visit together." I promise.

"Yeah, right." He scoffs and pulls away from me. After jumping to his feet, he wonders over to the window and keeps his view glued on the outside yard. "Like I'll ever be able to go."

"Son, you _will_ get to that point."

"Sure." He mumbles and rolls his eyes.

"There was a time when Esme didn't believe she would be able to take a trip like this."

"I'm not like Esme." Jasper says with a sigh. "Carlisle, I really don't want to talk about this anymore."

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	4. Chapter 4

"I love you, baby, and I can't wait for you to come home. I miss you so much." Jasper says into his phone in a soft, loving voice. He's been on the phone for an hour and a half with his beloved mate. I smile and sign in relief. My poor boy was miserable and cranky all day waiting for Alice's call. And although I know he feels so horrible being away from Alice, I'm also happy she called because his upset mood was being projected to the rest of us all day. Between that and Edward's mind reading, the two of them were ready to go at each others throats. Edward can't stand hearing and feeling Jasper's attitude, and Jasper can't handle Edward's complaining. And of course, Emmett and I were struggling to deal with both of their attitudes.

"Rose would freak if I talked to her like that." Emmett chuckles and nudges my arm with his elbow. "She'd think I broke something or sold her car or something like that."

"She sure would be suspicious." I agree with my own laugh.

"Esme would be suspicious, too, if you were that sweet." Edward adds on with a smirk. I nod.

"Jasper is the only one who can get away with-" I start to say, but Jasper's sudden change in tone makes all three of us look from

"You want to talk to Carlisle?" He asks in a combination of shock and disgust. His mood shifts instantly from blissful to annoyed. "Fine. I'll get him."

Edward, Emmett and I exchange questioning looks. Soon, Jasper's stomping over to me. He shoves the phone at me.

"She wants to talk to you." Jasper mumbles.

I take the phone and Jasper leaves the room in a huff. I hear his bedroom door slam shut, and a soft thud identical to the one I heard three days ago rattles the door. I sigh. His bad attitude has gone too far. We'll have to talk about it later. I stand from the couch and as I say hello to Alice, I walk out of the living room and go outside.

"Hello, Alice. How is your trip going?"

_I'm sorry Jasper is so upset. _She says, ignoring my question about her trip. _I should have stayed home._

"It's not your fault, Alice. He has to learn how to function without you." I insist.

_I've been trying to keep an eye out for him, but everything I'm seeing about him changes instantly. His mind must be running wild.  
_

"He's definitely had a lot to work through."

_I just wish I could help him somehow._

"You're doing just fine, dear. Just keep texting and calling when you can."

_I just hate that he's so upset over this._ She sighs._ Anyways, the reason I wanted to talk to you is about Edward._

"Edward?" I say questioning. I look through the sliding glass door to see Edward cranking his neck to look back at me.

_Yeah. When you go on the hunt, you're going to run into a group of nomads. Three girls and a male leader. They're not dangerous. Let Edward go. He'll be okay._

"Let him go?" I ask panicky. Where does she see my boy going? "Where? What do you mean, Alice?"

_Don't panic. He'll be gone for a few hours, then he'll come home. Let him do his thing._

"What does 'do his thing' mean?" I question.

_You'll understand once you're in the situation. I don't want to ruin the surprise for Edward. Just trust me._

"You better call if you see anything going wrong, Mary Alice." I tell her firmly even though I know she won't let her brother get hurt.

_Of course, Dad. Don't worry._

I try to get more information out of her, but our conversation is taken over entirely by static in about two minutes. We say goodbye through the horrible connection and I go back inside after I hang up. Emmett and Edward look at me questioningly.

"What does she mean by 'the surprise?" Edward asks. I shrug.

"You're guess is as good as mine." I say with a sigh and look at the steps. "Is Jasper still upstairs?"

"Sure is." Emmett answers. I thank him with a nod and head that way.

I knock on Jasper's door before nudging it open. Jasper's pacing from one side of the room to the other. Just like before, the door is stopped by a pillow. I step in, snatch up the pillow and wait for Jasper to acknowledge my presents. After waiting for a few seconds, I accept that he's not going to stop his sulking.

"What did I tell you about throwing things?" I ask. He scoffs.

"It was either the pillow or the nightstand." He grumbles.

"I've never known you to be violent when things don't go your way."

"You say that like I'm a child."

"To be honest," I say slowly, carefully, as I make my way to his bed to put the pillow where it belongs. "You are acting like a child."

Jasper throws me an angry look over his shoulder. I simply shrug.

"It's true, Jasper. Stomping off, throwing things. Those aren't qualities of the respectable and reasonable young man that I know."

Another scoff.

"We really need to discuss this attitude. You've been rude to your brothers, and you've been disrespectful towards me. That behavior is not accepted and you know it."

I earn an eye roll.

"That's the disrespect I'm talking about."

"I'm just handling some shit right now."

"Jasper, I understand that Alice's absence is difficult for you, but you cannot handle it like this. I've offered you this before, and I'll offer it again: I will help you if you let me." I repeat for what feels like the hundredth time in the past three days. "I'm always here to talk if you're upset. You know that. Discussing your issues is the correct way to handle this. These little tantrums are not."

No response.

"I thought that long talk with Alice would put you in a better mood."

"Why did she want to talk to you?" He asks.

"She wanted to tell me about a group of nomads we're going to run into on our hunt. Something about Edward going with them for a few hours." I say and set his cell phone on the end table. "Our connection was weak."

"It was fine in the kitchen."

"Well it wasn't outside." I tell him and wait for a respond. When none come, I sigh. "Are you going to talk about this or are you just going to keep pacing?"

Still no response.

"If you're not going to talk, then you need to listen to what I have to say. If you throw anything, if you're disrespectful or rude, you're going to get your butt busted." I explain. That definitely got his attention.

"You told us you were closing your office while the girls were gone!" Jasper snaps at me.

"We don't need my office to hand out punishment, Jasper." I tell him firmly. "This attitude will not be tolerated."

He grumbles to himself and turns his back to me. Sighing, I realize that our conversation is over. I walk to him and pat his shoulder as I pass.

"We're going on a hunt this evening." I remind.

"I'm not going."

"You haven't hunted in three days. You're going. Please don't turn this into an argument."

"If I hunt, I might miss a call from Alice. I'm not going."

"You're going and that's final." I say firmly. "It's nonnegotiable."

"That's so not fair." He huffs as I leave the room.

OoOoO

"Good kill, Emmett." I praise after Emmett took down his second pray. The lucky boy was able to find not only one large bear, but two. His white shirt and old, ripped jeans are blood stained from the wrestling match. He smiles at me before turning his attention back to the bear. Edward's busy climbing the trees and scanning the forest floor for these nomads Alice had promised. He's already had his fill for the day.

And then there's Jasper. He's off to the side, leaning against a tree. He's the only one of us who hasn't caught anything yet. Jasper wasn't even trying to. About two hours after my conversation with him in his room, Alice returned to her hotel room where she had a good connection with her phone and the two have been texting ever sense. And he is staying true to his promise not to hunt. I sigh and head over to my adamant son.

"Put the phone down and go hunt." I tell him. He doesn't even bother to look up from the screen.

"Hang on. I'm texting Alice."

"You've been texting her this whole time. Put the phone down and hunt."

"Give me a second!" He snaps at me.

"Come with me." I grumble, grab him by his sweatshirt sleeve and walk him away from his brothers. I know their eyes are glued on us, but at the moment I am not worried about them being nosy. My biggest problem here is my boy in the black sweatshirt.

"Let go of me!" Jasper huffs and tries to pull away from me. After we're hidden from the eyes of Emmett and Edward by a thick cluster of trees, I give Jasper a hard swat on the seat of his jeans. "Hey! What was that for?"

"That was for all the back talk you've been giving me. When I tell you to put your phone down, you put your phone down!"

"I was talking to Alice!" He tells me angrily. "I haven't seen her in three days and she finally has a full signal in her hotel room."

"I understand that, but you have to hunt. It's been three days sense you've last hunted."

"I'm fine!"

"Your eyes don't agree with that statement. You have to hunt."

"I think I know if I need to hunt or not better than you do." He says with a sassy tone that I've heard too much of in the last three days. I clench my jaw and talk myself out of spinning him around and busting his tail. Taking a deep breath, I raise one brow at my son. I half expected him duck his head, apologize and be back to the Jasper he is when Alice is around. It doesn't happen, though. He keeps eye contact with me, his eyes harsh and cold.

I sure do have my work cut out for me.

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	5. Chapter 5

"I'm not hunting." He says strongly. I shake my head, and against my better judgement, I decide I'm not going to argue with him.

"Fine. But if you don't hunt, you will have consequences. As soon as we get home, we're going to your room and you're getting you butt whooped. Those are your options. This behavior is absolutely deplorable and I will not take it any longer." I promise Jasper under my breath so Emmett and Edward can't hear. "You're lucky I'm not busting your rear end right now."

"Carlisle!" Edward calls. I can hear a group moving off in the distance and give Jasper one last warning glance.

"Do not cause trouble around these nomads."

He gives me a curt nod. I eye him quickly before turning and heading back to Edward and Emmett. Jasper follows behind me, staying about three feet away. As we get closer, I can feel Jasper's attitude change into one of submission. Maybe I got through to him.

When we reach the other two, Edward points in front of is. Emmett falls back behind me and Edward is at my side in a split second.

"They're harmless. Just passing through. The male is mated to one of the girls, the one named Daisy. The other two are part of the coven. The male realized we were here and is planning on asking for permission to cross over our territory." He explained quietly so these nomads won't hear us. "I can't get any hints on why I would go off with them, though."

"Stay on the lookout." I tell him. He nods.

Within a few seconds, these nomads appear. They stand much like me and my boys: the leader in the front, and the rest staggered behind him. He's a small man, thin and short for a male. Other than his body structure, there's nothing that makes him stand out. Brown hair, a plain tee-shirt and jeans. Nothing even hints at the idea of him being dangerous in any way. The woman closest to him is only a half an inch shorter than him. Her pitch black hair makes her skin look even more pale. Just like the male, she shows no sign of danger.

Two girls stand near each other behind the male and other female. I assume they're the two who aren't mated. One, a strawberry blonde, is about Edward's height and her tight jeans and blouse show off an hour-glass figure. The seconds is shorter by four inches or so, but is build the same as the strawberry blonde. The short one is wearing a pair of cut off shorts and a thin cardigan over a tank top.

"Hello," the male says. He extends his arm out to me. We step towards each other and our covens follow behind us. "I am Silas. We mean no harm to your coven."

"What are your intentions in this area?" I ask strongly. He responds with a small smile.

"We are just passing by. We did not realize this area was claimed."

I ask him about where he's taking his coven, where they're moving from and if they posses any special ability. His answers everything without hesitation and tells me they do not have any type of powers. I look over at Edward. He nods to confirm that the information Silas is giving me is true. Silas goes on to ask what we were doing in the woods and questions our eyes.

"We feed on animals here, not the humans. And if you plan on passing by, we expect the same from you. Just avoid the humans." I answer.

"Ahh, I have heard of your coven before. You live amongst the humans."

"That we do."

"Fascinating." He smiles up at me. "Tell me, why do you choose to do something that is so out of nature?"

I glance at Edward for reassurance that Silas's intentions are still pure, but he's too busy making eyes with the blonde and short girl.

Now Alice's vision make sense.

I answer Silas's questions vaguely since I don't have Edward's attention to gauge this vampires trustworthiness. Jasper stays at alert, but Emmett relaxes. Edward and these girls are throwing teasing smiles and winks at each other. After a few minutes of Silas and I talking, he names the dark haired girl as Daisy, his mate. The blonde is Margaret and the short female is Ida. I introduce my boys, but leave out the fact that our mates are gone. Although he did nothing to make himself seem like a dishonest man, I don't trust Silas enough to let him know that our girls are out on their own.

"Looks like Edward has taken an interest in Ida and Margaret." Daisy smiles. I nod.

"Seems they have." I say and turn my attention to Edward. He's striding over to the smiling girls, a smirk on his face.

"Oh my God," Emmett chuckles quietly.

Silas and Daisy asks a few more questions while Edward flirts with the two girls. Jasper and Emmett step closer together and start murmuring about their brother. Soon, Silas says they do not want to burden us and will be on their way.

"Silas!" Ida says and curls her finger towards her. He eyes her suspiciously before going over to her and Margaret. Edward walks back over to me. He keeps the same stride he used to approach the girls, but now that his back is to them, he's smiling like a fool.

"Carlisle, I can go with them, right?" He asks, keeping his voice low. From the looks of it, he's holding back from jumping up and down.

"I don't know, Edward. You do have school tomorrow." I tease. He smiles and pushes my should.

"Oh come on! Please? Alice said everything would be fine!" He asks again. I nod. "Seriously? Awesome!"

He turns on his heels to hustle back over to the girls, but I call him back over to me.

"Don't worry about school. I'll call you in sick. Just be careful."

His face is priceless. Shocked eyes and a big smile look back at me. I chuckle.

"Thanks so much Carlisle! I owe you one!"

He turns back to the girls and soon, he's running off with them. Once they're out of ear shot, Emmett starts laughing.

"Someone's getting laid tonight," he says in a sing-song voice.

"Maybe they're just going to talk." I say with a smile. Emmett scoffs.

"I think you mean pillow talk." He responds with a wag of his eyebrows. I laugh.

"Come on, let's go home."

We turn towards home, and Jasper's attitude changes back to his defiant mood. I glance behind me at him. His eyes are cast down, and instead of a scowl, a sad frown curses his lips. So I haven't gotten through to him completely, but we're getting there.

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	6. Chapter 6

"Are you done with your disrespectful attitude?" I ask Jasper after delivering a hard smack to his rear end.

"Yes. I'm sorry!" He sobs. I nod and pull his jeans back to where they belonged. He stands from my lap, rubs his behind with one hand and uses the other to rub his downward casted eyes. I stand and pull him into a hug. He embraces it and wraps his arms tightly around my torso.

The way he was carrying on would make someone think I took the strap to him, but that was the farthest from the truth. My young soldier never caused us much trouble, therefor he's only been punished a handful of time. This has been one of the easiest punishments he's been give, yet he's bawling like it's his worst. I couldn't stand to continue when he was already so upset.

"Take a deep breath, Jasper." I instruct him. He does so, but it's a shaky breath. "Care to talk to me about all of these issues?"

"I miss my Alice." He says. I nod.

"I know you do, but I have a feeling that is only the top of the issues."

"I can't live without her."

I just hold him and let him cry. These last three days have been strange as can be and Jasper has been far from his normal self. Maybe my boy just needs a little time to cry it out.

After a minute or two, he calms down and pulls away from me. I rub his shoulder as he wipes his eyes with the sleeve of his sweater.

"Alice is my everything." He says. I nod, move my hand to his back and guide him to the bed. We sit on the edge, side by side. "And now she's gone."

"She's not really gone, son. She's just on vacation. She will be back in you arms in no time."

"But I need her back in my arms now."

"You need to learn to function without her."

"I can't."

"You can, Jasper."

"No, I can't." He says with a shake of his head. "I don't know how you and Emmett can deal with your mates being gone."

"We can deal with it because we understand that the girls aren't gone forever. They haven't left us. They still love us and our family. It seems that you don't believe all that with Alice." I explain.

"I know she's not gone forever. It just feels like forever." He whispers. "If I weren't so damn weak, then maybe I could handle this."

"Back over my knee," I tell him firmly, grab his arm and attempt to take him back over my lap. He tenses up and tries to yank away from me.

"What'd I do?"

"How many times have I told you that if you continue to degrade yourself, you'll be getting your hind end lit up?"

He looks at me with a scrunched up pout. I pull him back over my lap. This time his jeans stay up, but he's not getting off easy. It's not long until he's wiggling and crying again, but he starts something that is completely new for him: kicking. His legs go wild. It's nothing I haven't dealt with before, Edward is known for the major fits he throws over being punished, but I never expected Jasper to act like this. I sigh and pause for a moment to address the problem.

"What are you doing, Jasper? Are you really going to let yourself completely change, completely fall apart just because things aren't going the way you want?"

"No!" He answers angrily.

"Actually, that is exactly what is happening. Alice is gone, your want her back, but she won't be home for eleven days. Instead of handling it in a responsible way, you're being rude, you're throwing things, and you've been pitching a fit sense the girls left." I say. "You haven't been yourself, Jazz, simply because things aren't going the way you want them too."

He glances up at me, but once we make eye contact he looks away. I don't know if I just got through to him or if I just pissed him off. I grab his shoulder and pull him up. He plops down on the bed, but he sits as far away from me as he knees are to his chest and his arms are folded stubbornly. His stone-cold glare is turned away from me.

"Let's get some things straight, Jasper. You will hunt. You will not be rude or disrespectful to anyone in the house. You will not throw things. If you continue to break these simple rules, you'll get the strap." I say firmly. Now he turns to look at me. If looks could kill, this glare would be my cause of death.

"It's in your office. You promised that you were keeping your office closed!"

"Then you'll-"

"You swore that while the girls were gone, you wouldn't use your office at all! You promised!" He hisses and jumps to his feet. He starts pacing. "You kept telling us that we were all going to spend these two weeks together, without problems! And now you're going back on it!"

I sigh and shake my head. I did promise the boys that the office would be closed. I didn't realize how much time I spent in there until Esme pointed out how empty the house will be once she and the girls left. She predicted that Edward would stay in his room with his books and piano, that Emmett would be out in the woods from the majority of his time, that Jasper would be wondering between his room and the living room, and that I would be in my office. I didn't want to waist this time with my boys, so I locked the door and hung the keys up. Of course, I still had work to do for the hospital, so I took out the papers and documents that I needed before locking the room. It took much longer for me to complete this work at the kitchen table or on the couch while Emmett and Edward ran wild, but it was much more enjoyable. Much better than doing the work in my office.

"You interrupted me, son. If you break the rules, then you'll be finding out how a belt feels across your rear."

"I can't believe you." He grumbles and snatches a baseball off of his nightstand. His fingers clench around it.

"Do _not_ throw that, Jasper!" I warn him. "And what is it that you can't believe? That you won't get away with this horrible attitude?"

He clenches his fist, and the ball can't take the pressure. He holds it in his palm and rolls his eyes at the indents from his fingers. He drops it on the ground.

"Just get out of my room and leave me alone! I don't want to talk to you."

"Stay up here for the rest of the night, Jasper. Tomorrow, you're hunting and if you can behave yourself then, you won't have to spend another day up here." I say as I leave the room. He scoffs and mumbles under his breath. I'm sure he's mocking me or complaining about his situation, but I don't want to deal with it. I shut his door, and as I walk down the hall, I hear his pillow hitting the door again.

I enter the living room, mumbling myself. Emmett's on the couch, sitting up straight with wide eyes. He glances over at me.

"Are you mad, Carlisle?" Emmett asks.

"Not with you." I promise as I join him on the couch. He gives me a smile, jumps off the couch and grabs a gaming controller.

"Hey Dad, you wanna play again?" He offers. "I'll go easy on you."

I sigh and take the controller. At least one of the two rowdy boys home are happy.

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys! So, you probably noticed that the last chapter was changed. I realized I goofed at the end. Edward wasn't suppose to be home yet, but he was at the end talking to Emmett and Carlisle. The only thing that changed was the last few lines. Just wanted to explain the repost of the chapter!**

Carlisle's POV

"You're taking that boy of yours with you next time." I joke to Esme once I reach a point in the woods where I can no longer hear what's going on inside of our home. "He's driving me mad, Esme."

_Oh, it can't be that bad. Jasper's a good boy._

"Not without Alice. You wouldn't believe his behavior." I sigh.

_Try me._

I start from the moment they left, how Jasper stayed in the garage waiting for Alice to call and was angry with me for letting the girls leave, and tell her everything that's happened sense. She already knew half of the story, but she's just learning his behavior from yesterday evening to now. She doesn't comment, and I can picture her sitting down, her eyes focused as she tries to understand and see things from her beloved sons point of view.

"And he threw his pillow again." I groan. "I swear, I'm ready to take the damn thing away."

_Carlisle, why would you make him stay in his room?_ Esme asks. Her tone is curious and non-accusing.

"Because he won't behave himself."

_I'm just asking because I know you wanted to spend some quality time with all three of the boys. I'm confused as to why you would exclude him._

"Exclude him?"

_He's made to stay upstairs while you play video games with Emmett._

"The point of keeping him in his room wasn't to exclude him, but to give him time to calm down, collect himself and his thoughts and correct his behavior." I explain, but as I talk, I start to realize Esme's point.

_And he was upset with you over the office issue._

"He just didn't want to get his butt busted." I say. I may have been mistaken with telling Jasper to stay in his room, but I'm confident I understand the reason for this outburst.

_While that is most likely a part of it, he also said that you promised to spend these two weeks with all three of them and he feels like you're going back on that promise._

"He did say that," I admit. "He said that before I told him to stay in his room, though."

_Honey, how many times have any of our children have ran downstairs and spent time with the entire family after being punished?_

"Never." I sigh.

_Don't get me wrong, he needed to be reprimanded for his behavior, but Jasper is obviously in a fragile state of mind right now._

"What do you think I should do?" I ask, giving up on my own ideas. Esme is understanding him more than I am right now.

_I don't think it's a good idea to punish him further. Let him leave his room. Try to involve him. Do something he wants to do._

"He won't tell us what he wants. He just keeps shrugging when we ask."

_You know our boy, Carlisle. You know what he enjoys._

"Even thousands of miles away, you still know how to manage our family." I complement with a smile. "Thank you, Esme. I'm definitely going to rethink how I've been handling this."

OOOOO

I sigh as I hear Jasper's laptop keys clicking away. He really wasn't being denied much entertainment by being kept in his room. A massive television is mounted to one wall. He has his laptop, a radio and his bookshelf filled with all of his favorite novels. I take a deep breath as I approach his bedroom door, praying that he'll be in a better mood.

"Jasper," I say and knock gently on his door.

"Come in!" He calls. I push the door open and step inside to see him on his bed, laying on his stomach, smiling at his laptop. On the screen, Alice smiles back. Next to her image is a smaller window. Jasper quickly closes it, but not before I catch a few glimpse of the words on it. Something about my office, screaming, throwing, embarrassment. Jasper looks over his shoulder and gives me a genuine smile. "Look! We put our webcams to good use!"

"You sure did." I agree and smile back. I don't know how long it will last, but my caring, respectful boy seems to be back. Alice looks at me and waves.

"Hi, Dad!"

"Hello, sweetheart. How's everything going?"

"Amazing! It's beautiful here."

"I'm glad you're having fun, hon." I tell her with a smile.

"We got you guys gifts. You're going to love it, Jazz. And just wait until you see what Esme got you, Carlisle!"

She chatters on about how wonderful Paris is. I listen with a smile. Jasper watches her image with love in his eyes. He projects a happy, almost giddy attitude. His smile is the one he wears when Alice comes home from school. I can only imagine the smile he'll have when Alice returns from Paris.

"Anyways, I know you two have some things to chat about, so I'll let you go." Alice says. Jasper's smile twitches into a frown, but quickly returns with Alice's next statement. "Remember, six o'clock tomorrow, your time."

"How could I forget?" He says, his southern draw adding that much more charm to his goodbye. "Can't wait to talk to you again, my princess."

They both turn off their webcams and Jasper shuts the program down. With the window gone, his background screen is shown. It's a simply picture Esme took a few months ago. Alice is sitting between Jasper's legs on the couch, his long legs almost taking up all the sitting space. I'm by their feet, looking down at my phone. Rosalie is flopped into the chair next to the couch with a magazine she's thumbing through. Emmett and Edward are just a wave of color. Just as the picture was snapped, Emmett tackled Edward to the the ground. Of course, on Jasper's computer the picture is cropped so the two of them are the focus and are in the middle of the screen. Most of his icons are in the top left corner of his screen, but five are clustered around Rosalie, hiding her face.

"What's that about?" I ask and point. If he could blush, he would be.

"She made me mad the other day so I covered her face." He admits sheepishly as he moves the icons in line with the others. I chuckle.

"She sure is good at pushing other peoples buttons."

"Am I in trouble for using my laptop?" He asks nervously. He looks up at me and bits his lip.

"No, you're not. I never said you couldn't. But we do have to talk."

"I know. I have some things I would like to tell you."

"Go ahead, then."

He sits up, presses a few buttons on the laptop and powers it down before rolling his shoulders back, looking me in the eye and talking.

"Well, first I want to apologize for my behavior lately. I didn't realize how hateful and rude I've been until I talked to Alice today. I never intended on taking my insecurities and anger out on my family, and I'm sorry that you got the brunt of it." He takes a deep breath. "Second, I want you to know that Alice and I set up a schedule. At six, she's going to call me. I'm going to call her at noon. Then, at five, we're going to video chat. We are also going to text throughout the day, but I understand that she won't be able to respond right away to every text. So with that being said, I will go hunting with you tomorrow without a problem. I know you work in the morning, but I am not suppose to leave this room until tomorrow, so I was thinking that we could hunt around one in the morning, if that's okay with you. That way, you won't be late for work and I'll be back home in plenty of time to talk to Alice."

"One o'clock will work." I confirm. If we have a usual hunt, it will last about an hour to an hour and a half. That gives him around three and half to four hours before Alice calls. And I don't have to be to work until seven, so there's no worry about me being late. I don't tell him this, though. He's hunting willingly again, and if that means hunting at one in the morning, then that's what we'll do. It's not like we need that time to sleep. Jasper nods.

"Great. Again, I'm sorry for my behavior, and any personal attacks on you that I may have made. And I'm sorry for all the yelling I've done. And the throwing. And the back talk. The disrespect, the growling, the eye-rolling." He ducks his head. "I'm sorry. I'm very embarrassed by my behavior."

"Thank you for the apology, Jasper, and of course, you're forgiven." I say. He gives me a small smile.

"Thank you."

"Now, I have some things to apologize for as well." I tell him. He gives me a questioning look. "I haven't been the most understanding lately. You do not have to stay in your room for the rest of the night. It's very unfair of me to keep you confined from the rest of us. The intent of telling you to stay here was to give you time to cool off and collect yourself, but I should have told you to stay here until you calmed down. By keeping you here all night, it doesn't solve any problems. It also takes away time you could be spending downstairs with your brother and I, and that's the last thing I want."

He looks up at me with a big smile, almost as big as the one he had while talking to Alice.

"And there seems to be a misunderstanding of what it means for my office to be closed. We need to clear that up." I add on. He ducks his head again and his smile is gone.

"I understand what it means. I was just mad."

"Please, tell me what it means. I want to make sure we're on the same page."

"It means that the room is just off limits. It doesn't mean we'll be getting out of punishments."

"That's correct."

"I was mad. I thought you were going to go into your office." He explains, keeping his head ducked. "That's why I was so angry. You spend a lot of time in there, and I was excited when you said you were closing it. I was afraid once you opened it to get the strap, you would keep it opened and then it would be my fault that you weren't spending these two weeks with us. Edward and Emmett would hate me for it, and I'd hate me, too."

Jasper's words pierce my heart. Never before did he ever say or do anything to make me believe he didn't like the time I spent in my office. And the thought of him fearing that I would stay in my office instead of be with my boys killed me. Without thinking, I move closer to him and pull him into a hug. He hugs me back, tightly, and hides his face in my shoulder.

"Jasper, why didn't you tell me this?" I ask with a sigh, feeling horrible with myself.

"You're disappointed with me." He whispers. I shake my head.

"No, no, no. I'm not disappointed with you, my son, I'm disappointed in myself. I should have realized all the time I spent in there."

"Sometimes you get home and go right to your office. The door closes and you can be in there for hours." He murmurs. I hold him tighter. "I know I sound like a whinny kid, but it sucks."

"You need to tell me this stuff, Jasper. I had no idea it affected you so much that you were afraid I would open it early." I say. Never before did it cross my mind that this was a problem.

"I know you have too. You have work to do. And it's not fair for me to ask you not to because you fund us with that work. I can't ask you to stop when you're the only one with a job."

"We can change things, though. You're right, I do have to get the work done, but we can find a way to do so without spending so much time away from the family." I promise. "I've been doing it downstairs lately, and it takes much longer to finish it, but I will continue to do so if it fixes this."

He pulls away and looks down, fidgeting with the hem of his jeans. I rub his shoulder and wait for a response, but I get none so I move onto the next issue.

"And your brother would _never_ hate you for anything."

"Yeah they would," He sighs. "Because I would hate myself if I were in their shoes and I made you open the office again."

"You're wrong, dude!" Emmett calls from downstairs. I laugh, and Jasper cracks the smallest of smiles at our unexpected interruption. "We couldn't hate ya!"

"See? They would never hate you."

"That's why Alice and I were instant messaging instead of talking through the webcam." He says, lifts his head and smiles. "Too many ears in this house."

Jasper sighs and flops backwards on the bed. He rubs his eyes and uncrosses his legs while mumbling "Six o'clock, six o'clock," to himself. Watching him, I realize that he does sound like a kid. Not whinny, but definitely a kid. I wouldn't dare tell him that, though. Not when he's finally opening up about all of this. But I know if it bothers him that I'm always in my office, it most likely bothers the others as well. Kid or not, I needed to know this. No matter how old he or any of my children are, I would much rather them talk to me, even if they sound like a kid, than them be upset with an issue and not tell me.

"Why don't you come downstairs with us? I played that new video game Emmett has. I'm no good at it, but I bet you'll enjoy it, and I'm sure he would love to have another player who doesn't blow himself up with his own grenade." I say. Jasper lifts his head and raises one eyebrow at me.

"You blew yourself up with your own grenade?"

"I forgot how to throw it."

"Jesus." He chuckles. "Okay. Let's go."

"That's my boy." I smile, pat his knee and stand from the bed. He jumps to his feet.

"Come on, bro! I already have it hooked up and the game is loading!" Emmett yells. Jasper smiles and runs downstairs.

I chuckle as I glance around the room. Alice is very neat, and I always thought Jasper was as well, but apparently not. His dirty clothes lay in a heap by the door. The laundry he did yesterday is still in a basket, unfolded. The baseball is still on the floor. I'm sure he'll have the room tidied up before Alice gets home, but it's strange to see it like this. It's no where near as messy as I've seen Rosalie's and Emmett's room before, but that's an entirely different issue.

As I leave the room, my phone rings in my pocket. I pull it out, recognize Edward's number and answer it.

"Hello, Ed-" I start to say, but I'm quickly cut off.

_Can you call me in sick for tomorrow, too?_

"I don't even get a hello?"

_Hello. Can you call me in sick for tomorrow, too? _He repeats.

"Always sassy." I chuckle. "Yeah, sure. How's it going?"

_Absolutely amazing. These girls, t__hey're freaks._

"Good freaks or bad freaks? Do I have to come pick you up?" I tease.

_Oh, hell no! _He laughs. _They're good freaks. Very good freaks. Great freaks._

"Okay, too much information." I stop him before he continues. "When do you plan on coming home?"

_I'll be home by tomorrow night at the latest. But hey, I gotta go. These chicks only stopped so I could show them how to hunt like we do. As soon as we're done here, we're-_

"I don't need details." I tell him and laugh. "We'll see you tomorrow."

_See ya!_

Without any more of a goodbye other than 'see ya', he hangs up. I look down at my phone. Our conversation lasted a whole forty-one seconds. I shake my head, slide my phone back into my pocket and head downstairs. Emmett shoots taunts at me from the living room about how much better Jasper is at the game than I am. I smile. Things are okay. For now. And I'm going to enjoy this while it lasts.

**Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

"You look tired, Cullen. Stayed up to night partying while your wife is out of town?" Dr. Thomson says with a chuck as he joins me in the break room.

"No partying for me." I confirm and smile.

"Those boys of yours keeping you up at night?"

"You have no idea." I say with a sigh. He laughs.

"I raised three kids myself, Cullen. Trust me, I understand."

I just smile and nod, but I'm pretty sure his kids weren't like mine. I'm sure he never made a one in the morning hunting trip for his frustrated son. We may not sleep, but we all had grown use to having the nights to ourselves and using that time to unwind and calm down after a busy day. While I enjoy the time with my boys, I'm also noticing a growing urge to have just a moment to myself.

"They're a handful, aren't they?" Dr. Thomson smiles.

"They sure are. I never realized how much our family relied on each other."

Dr. Thomson raises one brow at me as my phone vibrates in my pocket. Sighing, I pull it out. I'm not surprised to see Jasper's number on my screen, asking me what I'm up too for the third time today. With Edward still gone with the nomads, Emmett gone to school and me at work, he's home alone. I thought he would enjoy the time, but it seems like he's simply bored out of his mind. He's been texting me all morning.

"Jasper is having a rough time with the girls gone." I explain.

"He's the one who's homeschooled, right?" He asks. I nod. "So is he a bit of a momma's boy? Missing Esme?"

"He does miss Esme, but it's mainly Alice he is really missing." I say. I get another questioning look, and I know it's story time now. "He has extreme anxiety issues, and he and Alice have a very positive relationship. She calms him."

"Are they like, a thing?" He questions uneasily.

"They're dating, but legally, Jasper isn't our child. He's still considered a foster kid. We were going to adopt him, but the day before we were going to start the process, he begged us not to because he wanted to be with Alice. Of course, we weren't going to force him through it. He's seventeen, so in a few months he'll simply age out of the system." I explain smoothly. I have to admit, I enjoy telling these fake stories. They make our family seem more human and fill in the gaps of our cover story, but it also lets me talk about my family without exposing us. It's true that Jasper has anxiety problems, but Thomson doesn't need to know it's because he helped lead a vampire army. And while it's common knowledge in this little town that Jasper does not attend the public high school, but they don't need to know that at his age, he doesn't need to go through the education system.

"Is that what you did with your oldest daughter as well?"

"Yes. Rosalie and Jasper are siblings, and they came to use at the same time. Rosalie was only three months from aging out, and she and Emmett fell for each other right away. She flat out told us not to bother with the adoption process. It took Jasper a little longer to tell us how he felt." I say. "Jasper's having a hard time with Alice being gone. He's been giving me a hard time for the past few days."

"Is he your rebel child?" Thomson asks. "My youngest was my biggest handful."

"He's never been a problem before, but he's taken that role over now." I admit ruefully.

"Don't worry, he'll get over it." He shrugs. "He's young, and young relationships are always dramatic. Once Alice comes home, he'll realize that it wasn't as big of a deal as he made it seem."

Again, I simply nod. He doesn't understand my boy, but I hope he's right.

* * *

I check my watch and try to guess where Emmett could be. I've been on front of the school for five minutes now. He knew I was picking him up today. I've been getting gawking stares from the students as they eye my new Cadillac. Some old lady behind me is slowly creeping closer to me, and the thought of her hitting my car is enough to make me cringe.

"Hey, Dad." Emmett says as he climbs into the passenger seat. I was too busy watching the lady behind me to see him walking up.

"Hey," I smile. I throw the car into drive and happily pull out of the car danger zone that is the student pick up parking lot.

"Sorry it took so long. I was texting Jasper back. He's been texting me all day." He sighs.

"Me too. I finally had to ignore him. I can't work while talking to him all day." I admit. Emmett smirks and shakes his head at me.

"I never thought you would be the kind to ignore your kid, Carlisle." He teases.

"Oh, shut up." I laugh and roll my eyes, earning a chuckle from Emmett. "You know I wouldn't ignore him if I could text and run around the ER at the same time."

We drive home with very little conversation. As Emmett watches the forest fly by us from the passenger window, I can't help but believe that he feels the same about having some alone time. I even gave him the option of staying home from school today, but he sheepishly asked to go so he could have a break from all of Jasper's wild emotions. I couldn't blame him, though. I'm just happy that he told me this in a way where Jasper didn't hear him.

We finally pull into the drive, and a familiar voice can be heard inside the house. Emmett and I smile at each other before going inside to welcome Edward home.

"Man, you wouldn't believe these chicks. Absolutely amazing!" Edward brags to Jasper in the living room. Jasper's on the far end of the couch, smiling with his feet propped up on the coffee table. Edward's sitting on the other end, cross-legged and turned so he's facing Jasper. When he hears Emmett and I enter the room, he turns and smiles at us.

"Hey Em, Dad,"

"Hey dude," Emmett smirks and slaps Edward's shoulder as he walks by. "Sounds like you had a good night."

"Oh yeah." He chuckles. I ruffle his hair, earning another smile from him. In doing so, I spot a pale pink mark at the base of his hairline. I take another look and shake my head.

"You have lipstick on your neck, son." I inform him.

"I'm sure it's not the only place I have lipstick."

"Too much information." I say and give him a playful slap on the back of the head. I smiles up at me.

"Hey, you brought it up!"

"You should go shower." I suggest. He shrugs.

"Maybe I like the lipstick."

"Once again, too much info." I chuckle now. Edward just keeps on smiling.

"So what all happened?" Emmett asks and flops down sloppily on the lounge chair.

"I don't kiss and tell." Edward says dramatically. He stands from the couch and heads out of the room, running his hands through his hair as he does. He doesn't cover the lipstick mark, though, and I can't help but believe it was intentional. Before he leaves, he throws me a smirk to confirm my thought.

We hear the shower starts and Jasper starts complaining about how boring his day was. Emmett and I exchange smiles as Jasper goes on. I take Edward's spot on the couch. I listen to Jasper gripe about his day. He complains, but he doesn't whine. He sounds like the old Jasper.  
For a moment, things feel better. It doesn't feel normal because the girls are still gone, but it feels nice. My boys are back under one roof. They're getting along and none of them are causing trouble. Yet, that is. I'm sure they'll be plotting together to pull some kind of prank or joke on me, but I can handle that trouble. The screaming and arguing trouble is what causes problems. It seems like we may be able to have a nice, bonding time together after all.

**Hey guys! So things are starting to look up for the Cullen clan. Any idea on how long it will last? Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

Jasper's POV:

"He might be better at a racing game. The shooting games really aren't his thing." Emmett suggests to Edward. Edward shrugs.

"Maybe. He's too much of a pacifist for video games."

"He could probably play Sims without a problem."

"Yeah," Edward laughs. "I'm sure he could."

"He's never really played a video game before, either." I point out as I send a text to Alice.

"Maybe we should get an Atari and start him out with pong." Emmett says. "The girls will be shocked to hear that he even picked up a controller."

"Yeah. Have you talked to them lately?"

"I talked to Alice an hour ago." I say.

"We all know you talked to Alice." Edward shakes his head and rolls his eyes. "I mean Rose and Esme."

Emmett shrugs and says he talked to Rosalie last night. I just look down at my blank cell phone screen, hoping Alice would text me back. Edward's rude attitude is the last thing I want to deal with. Is it really that big of a deal that I keep in touch with my mate?

The two of them jabber on about how different the house is with the three girls gone. I keep to myself, unlock my phone and type out another message to Alice.

_Can't wait for your return home. Miss you like crazy._

Edward shoots me an annoyed look, but I just turn my back to him and scan the area for any type of pray. We're wondering the woods, just following the stream. This visit to the woods was suppose to be a hunting trip, but none of us really need it or want to hunt at all. Carlisle stayed home and his patience was running thin. He had some work to finish, but we were being too loud in the house. He did his best to hide his agitation with it, but I noticed and Edward knew the truth right away. So we headed out on an unneeded hunting trip so he could finish what he had to do. I wouldn't have minded staying in my room and waiting for Alice to respond, but I knew if I kept myself isolated and completely focused on her that I would go back to the unacceptable behavior I was punished for earlier in the week. But it's so hard not to think about her. Everything reminds me of her. The faint smell of her favorite perfume on my clothes, the worn out couch cushion where me and her always sat, the pictures she and Esme picked to hang on the walls. Even the colors of the walls reminded me of her. Alice was the one who suggested painting the living room a chocolate brown color. We were all skeptical on how it would look finished, but we went along with it anyways. I took Alice to the store to buy the paint, and while she and the others were gone to school, Esme and I applied it. It actually turned out to look amazing with the white molding along the top and bottom of the wall. I chuckle to myself. Whenever I doubt my lovely wife, she always proves to me that she knows best.

"Hey, those are the flowers Esme was talking about before she left." Edward says, breaking me from thoughts of Alice. He pulls out his phone, but frowns and glances at me. "Dude, let me use your phone. Mine's dead."

"What? No!" I shake my head. He huffs.

"Come on, man! I just want to send a picture of them to Esme. She says they're hard to come by." He explains. "If Alice texts you, I'll give it right back, I swear! Esme will love seeing them."

I glance down at my phone, then back at Edward.

"Jazz, just let me use it. Esme will love to get the picture."

Sighing, I hesitantly hand my phone to him. Without a thank you or anything, Edward snatches it from me and heads over to the small patch of flowers.

"Rose doesn't contact me nearly as much as Alice contacts you." Emmett tells me, then smirks and gently elbows my arm. "I don't know whether to be concerned or thankful of that."

I force a smile, but it doesn't stay. I can't imagine why he would be thankful of such a thing. They could go all day without sending a simple text to each other. I would be out of my mind if that was Alice and I.

"Maybe she's too busy with someone else." Edward mumbles. Emmett snaps his head to Edward's direction and his emotions shift dramatically.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"You know what I mean." He says as he snaps the picture. He goes to my messages and scrolls down until he finds Esme's name.

"No, I don't think I do, Edward." Emmett seethes. "Explain."

"Let's be honest, Emmett. If any couple was going to cheat on each other in this family, it would be you and Rosalie."

"And why would it be me and Rose?" Emmett questions and clenches his fists. I take a sidestep away from him just in case Edward continues to run his mouth. I'm not going to be a casualty of Emmett's rage.

"She's a bit of a, you know." Edward chuckles at Emmett's mood. He casually types out a message to Esme.

"No, I don't know. What is she?" Emmett growls. It's not a question, it's a challenge. Edward smirks, looks over his shoulder and locks eye contact with Emmett.

"She's a bit of a slut."

Emmett lets out another growl and pounces towards Edward. Edward jumps backwards, then runs when Emmett continues to go after him.

"What the fuck did you say? Say it again, you little prick!" Emmett yells. I take another step back and I start to fear for the safety of my phone in Edward's hands.

"Dude, back off!" Edward hisses. Emmett doesn't listen, though. He's hot on Edward's tail, and just as he reaches out to grab him, Edward kicks his speed up a notch and jumps over the stream. Emmett's right behind him, and as he tackles Edward in the air, the two of them come crashing down, soaking the surrounding area with river water. Emmett immediately starts throwing punches and Edward tries to cover his face from our brother's angry blows. The noise that comes from the two of them is loud and aggressive, but I'm more concerned over the thin black rectangle that's now floating down the stream.

My phone.

"What the hell, Edward?" I yell and jump into the river after my phone. I snatch it up, but I'm sure it's too late.. Edward holds his arms over his face so his forearm is taking most of Emmett's punches. "My phone! You ruined my phone! How the hell am I supposes to talk Alice? You damn jackass!"

"You little fucker! You better take that back!" Emmett yells.

"You ruined my phone! How the hell am I suppose to talk to Alice? You piece of shit!"

Edward fights back and is able to push Emmett off of him. They both jump to their feet, and Edward runs for dry ground.

"You owe me a new phone, you ass!" I say and stick my foot out in Edward's path, making him fall on his face. Emmett's back on top of him in a minute.

As Emmett tortures Edward, I take a moment to seek revenge. Edward's phone fell out of his pocket in his attempt to escape. I scoop it up and chuck it at a tree. It shatters and flies in a million different pieces.

Emmett's wasting no time in beating the shit out of Edward. The cocky little bastard deserves it after the shit he pulled!

I glance down at my phone. The screen is cracked and I can see water swooshing around under the glass. I can deal with a damaged screen if the phone still works. Maybe the rice trick will be able to save it. It's my only chance at having my phone back, so I leave Emmett and Edward to duke it out.

I barge through the backdoor and into the kitchen, passing Carlisle at the counter. As I search the cupboards for rice, I realize the flaw in my plan: we don't eat.

"Where's the fire, son?" Carlisle asks, looking up from his papers and eying me over.

"Where can I find rice?" I ask quickly. He raises his brow at me.

"Rice?"

"Yes, rice. Edward dropped my damn phone in the stream." I grumble.

"Oh no." He jumps to his feet and stands next to me. I hand him the phone and he cringes as he examines it. "You just got this phone a few weeks ago."

"I think it hit a rock on the bottom of the river."

"So it was completely submerged in the water?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry son, but I don't think this is savable." He sighs.

My anger resurfaces, and Carlisle must feeling it because he's giving me a warning look, telling me to watch myself. I pierce my lips together, and before Carlisle can warn me verbally, I take my anger out on the bills and newspaper on the counter. With a single sweep of my arm, I send everything to the floor.

"God damn it!" I yell.

"Jasper! Control yourself!" Carlisle scolds me. I clench my fists.

"How am I suppose to talk to Alice? That asshole ruined my phone!"

"I understand that you're mad, but you need to calm down." He says. "I'll get you a phone. We have plenty of old ones. But you cannot act like this. You'll be taking your belt off if you don't get a grip over yourself."

"Get a grip? Edward's out there destroying my phone and insulting Emmett and I need to get a grip?" I scoff, although I realize it's not fair to use what happened between Emmett and Edward because Carlisle doesn't know about that yet. "It's that cocky little fucker who needs to get a grip!"

"Do you want a whooping right now? You're working towards a few stokes with a belt, son." He warns. I open my mouth to respond, but we hear a painful scream. Carlisle turns back to me and starts the questions. "What was that? Where are your brothers?"

"They're in the woods. Edward called Rosalie a slut, and Emmett's pissed." I explain bitterly. Carlisle's eyes widen.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"Because Edward deserves everything Emmett's doing to him!"

Carlisle shakes his head, orders me to follow him and runs out of the house. I'm right behind him and in just a few seconds, we get to Edward and Emmett. Emmett has Edward on the ground and is sitting on top of his chest, one massive hand wrapped too tightly around Edward's throat and the other hand in a pulled back fist, aimed at Edward's face. Edward's hands are trying desperately to pull Emmett's away and his feet are kicking wildly, but it doesn't effect Emmett at all.

"You want to keep talking shit about Rose?" Emmett asks menacingly.

"You're going to snap my fucking neck off! Let go!"

"Do you still have shit to say about my mate?"

"Emmett! Get off of him!" Carlisle says as he rushes to Edward's aid. I cross my arms over my chest and lean against a nearby tree to watch the scene unfold.

No way am I offering my help. Edward deserves it.

**Please review!**


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